Sunday, 9 May 2010

Disrupt:on Inc. Exclusive: Tunnidge

Tunnidge first came to my attention with a 12" he did for Deep Medi, then he went off the map for a bit before coming back into the spotlight towards the end of last year with his tune 'The Lights', a collaboration with friend Cyrus, putting him firmly back on the dubstep map. His tunes have been on constant rotation for the likes of Distance, Cyrus and Mala so it's safe to say his production has received some high profile attention over the past few months. So we're pretty chuffed that the man agreed to do an interview for us and on top of that to lay down an EXCLUSIVE mix for us as well. Check out what the man had to say below and cop the mix as well!

Right, for anyone who for some reason isn't familiar with you, what name do you write under? And how would you describe your sound?

I’m from South East London and produce under the name Tunnidge. I produce dark sub driven dubstep.You've been getting a lot of love from Distance recently, is he a big influence on your music?

To be honest Distance has always repped my beats right from the very start. When I first met him it was down in Bristol, Mala was playing at one of Pinch’s nights and he had cut a tune of mine called “Geddeon” so I drove down with him to see how it went down. I got chatting to Distance around Pinch’s house and when Mala dropped “Geddeon” later at the club Distance was really feeling it, so I passed it to him when we got back to London. I was away for the whole of 2008 and didn’t produce anything so now im back on the beats it may seem like im getting more love from him, but it just feels like im picking up from where I left off. But yeah, Distance is definitely an influence, hes kind of become my litmus test, when I send a fresh beat out if hes on it it tends to do well!

What hardware/software do you use to write your tunes? What's your set up like?

My set ups basic in as much as I have two monitors a midi-keyboard and a computer and that’s it, that’s all I need at the moment. Software-wise I write on Cubase SX 3 I also use Sound Forge, Cool Edit, Kontakt, Battery 3 and Recycle. Synth-wise I predominantly use Albino, Zeta, V Station and maybe Hydra or Predator.

Tell us a bit about your relationship with Deep Medi and Mala.

I’ve been good friends with Mala since I was about 14. We were both always into our music and I was also really keen on art. When Mala used to come round I'd always show him new sketches or drawings, paintings etc. He used to really like some of my work so I suppose it stuck in his head from then. I was away from London for a while and didn’t see him that much but when we used to chat on the phone probably around late 2005 he was like “yeah there is this new sound we’re building it's at 140 all about the sub” then every time we spoke the music seemed to be gaining momentum “John Peel's playing our stuff” then “we got a night in Brixton” “we’re on a compilation album etc.” He also used to send me all the early Digital Mystikz and Loefah beats and the occasional set from rinse..

I had just started making beats at the time and mala said to me why not send him something at 140 bpm. So I sat down and wrote a tune called “Geddeon”, I didn’t have any monitors at the time so I just sat in my room and made it on my headphones. I sent it down to him late Christmas 2005, then in the summer of 2006 I got another phone call from Mala saying “I’m starting a new label called Deep Medi, I’ve signed this tune called Kalawanji and I'd like you to do the artwork.” So over the next month I sent him various ideas and designs but none were really clicking, then Mala came up with the idea of doing portraits of each producer. And that was it really, I got sent up a photo of Kromestar and got sketching. Then when I was down for the weekend in London Mala came round and we sat at the computer with the Kromestar portrait and picked the Deep Medi font, worked out the layout of the sticker, and ever since then I’ve done all the artwork. The heads seem to have gone down really well and its always a buzz when one of the artists comes back really pleased with it.

While all this was going on the tune “Geddeon” I sent down was going down really well in the clubs so he asked me if he could release it on Deep Medi along with another tune called “Face Melt” both of which came out in early 2008 as MEDI008. And that was it, the label seems to be going from strength to strength which is good to see. By the way you can view my artwork and hear the Deep Medi back catalogue at www.deepmedi.com. Both these beats are on the Deep Medi: Volume 2 which is out now.

What releases have you got planned for this year so far? Any more on Deep Medi?

I’ve got a few things lined up on some pretty big labels this year I'm happy to say, as usual cant really give too much away, but one of them will be unexpected. As for another Deep Medi release...you'll have to wait and see!You've also been working closely with Cyrus. Is the Origin Audio label both of yours? What's coming on the label this year? I see your next release is from Commodo!

Yes Origin Audio is run by both myself and Cyrus, we are both keen on representing new and established producers that build the darker more sub driven sound. I think the scene is very much at odds with itself at the moment and a lot of music that has both integrity and longevity is getting overlooked. I’m not talking about music that you can’t play in a club either. Myself nor Cyrus would put out something we wouldn’t play in a club. I’m talking about quality dance music, something that’s going to stand up when its played in 5 years or 20 years time, not some beat that you’d cringe at if you heard it in 5 years. There’s no reason that a beat can not make you want to dance and have elements in it that are challenging and progressive. I think people seem to have forgotten this, we’re looking to balance this out with the label, to shine a light back on to the underground so to speak.

We have signed some new producers that we are really happy with and also have some established names that will be coming out on the label. The first release (out now) are two tunes called “Lights” and “Ding Ding” and are collaborations by myself and Cyrus, we were both pleased to see it was the top seller in Blackmarket records a week after it came out. For the second release we have two beats called “Dokument” and “Eastern Bloc” built by a Leeds based producer named Commodo. As soon as me and Cyrus heard this guy we were both feeling the beats and thought we got to sign him to the label. You can hear all of the origin audio beats at our myspace page www.myspace.com/originaudiouk.

Whose tunes are you feeling at the moment? Anyone you wanna get in the studio with?

Cyrus’ new beats he played me are amazing. Trust me his album is going to be next level. V.I.V.E.K sent me some absolutely mind blowing stuff, Mala and Distance are both consistently brilliant. Obviously Commodo, Truth, Breakage, Pinch, Kryptic Minds, Killa & Instinct, Rob Sparx, Lurka, Asusu and Slack are all making really good beats at the moment. Goth-Trad always kills it, and basically anything Youngsta plays!

To be honest I’m really lucky I have had the opportunity to get in the studio with some of my favourite producers, I have collaborated with both Distance and Cyrus. I also have further collaborations pending with both of them, last week myself and Truth were in the studio so keep your ears peeled for those beats, they should surface soon. Be really nice to work with Mala but he’s so busy it would be hard to pin him down at the moment. I'd love to work with Breakage I think that guy was born to make dubstep, definitely be good to collab with Kryptic Minds, and Pinch I love all the Deleted Scenes releases him and Distance have done, they have a new tune called “Hysteria”, which is ridiculous.

What kind of music do you listen to outside of the dubstep spectrum?

I listen to absolutely everything; Jungle, Drum & Bass, Rock, Reggae, Soul, Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Ska, Punk, Classical anything it depends on my mood and the weather. I’ve never understood people who listen to one genre of music, I don’t want to listen to something on a Sunday morning that I'd listen to on a Friday night, to be honest I try and listen to music which enhances my mood.

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